Match day had begun with warm-up pre-game drinks at one of the main meeting points adopted by Australian fans, the open air Fountain Bar, set in one of Tashkent’s many glorious parks.

By mid-afternoon the Green & Gold Army-led contingent had grown to over 50 travelling fans, further inspired by iconic background music and tunes from the likes of Men at Work, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Yothu Yindi and the Hunters and Collectors.

Local passers-by paused and observed and in some cases engaged in good humour with the fans, clearly fascinated by their brush with Aussie culture.

In the lead up, we were promised to be looked after by the Uzbekistan police, and their undertaking did not disappoint.

Based on prior arrangements with authorities, by 7pm the Socceroos fan group had moved on to a nearby major hotel for bus departure and a police escort to the stadium.

With flashing lights and priority over all traffic lights on the route, it was almost as if we were a presidential motorcade with thousands of intrigued, curious and mostly friendly locals on and lining the streets to witness our fan brigade’s passage and arrival.

Tashkent had never previously seen the likes of this away fan culture and maybe won’t again for a long time. Inside the bus, a chant went up of “We love the Uzbek Police, we love the Uzbek police, we love Uzbek police, oh Uzbeks we love you”.

By 7-30pm we had arrived at the stadium and after been driven through three sets of security rings, our bus got us within about 100 metres of the entrance to our allotted Section 22 away fans bay.

Escorted then by foot by police, we entered the cauldron to an amazing response by the almost 35,000 home fans who had already taken up their positions.

In the truly electric atmosphere, we felt like we’d made a grand entrance into a coliseum. Yes there were many mock whistles of disdain, and yet it seemed that most were just very surprised by our presence and colourful fan attire including all sorts of improvised flags, hats and iconic Aussie props.

We’d been told there would be 3,000 police on hand and it seemed like that was a reality, including about 200 specially designated to surround our away bay, with high fencing on one side and to the front.

Their concern had always been for our safety and comfort, especially as we were told there was potential for some Uzbek fans to react badly to a home loss.

Shortly before kick off at 8-30pm, the atmosphere had become decidedly tense. With the stadium PA system failing to properly play and amplify our national anthem, our unruffled Socceroos fans took over by thumping out in almost choir-like fashion a stirring rendition of Advance Australia Fair. Was this going to be our night?

Match now underway, after a typical settling in period the Socceroos began to assert themselves and string together their passing game, with the Uzbeks seemingly more content with a counter attacking approach.

The Aussie fans had been in sustained fine voice throughout the first half and yet it was with great relief and joy that Wilkshire’s sublime cross found Chippers to adeptly head the ball home.

Goal and the chant of “Ole Ole Ole Ole, Aussies, Aussies…etc” went up in the away section. Despite Marco narrowly missing just before half time, the feeling at that point was that at very worst we would not lose from there.

At half-time each of our fans who needed to use the toilet were escorted personally by police, and with bottled water absent and dehydration to be avoided, a system of getting trays of open cups of a strange concoction of cordial were ferried into our section by officials. We were assured the mixture was safe!

In the second half the Uzbeks upped the tempo and yet despite their increasing resolve, the Australian defence superbly marshalled by Lucas Neil never faltered and we began to get the feeling it just wasn’t going to the Uzbeks night.

The lack of self belief was reflected in Uzbek fans beginning to stream from the ground with about 10 minutes to go which would hardly have inspired their team given the dire need for a late equaliser.

Full time and another epic win to Australia ‘on the road’ which prompted an outpouring of emotion amongst the travelling away fans including much hugging, jumping, cheering, chanting and even some tears of joy which helped help release the tension.

With the home crowd exiting the ground quickly, the away fans were again rewarded by the entire Socceroos led by Harry and Mark Schwarzer jumping the first barrier to come right over to the fence adjacent to our section to salute our contingent.

In a wonderful gesture, many removed their team shirts, goalkeeper gloves and boots for mementos to some lucky fans - including yours truly. When you win, you can relish the occasion and celebrate with a team effort by players and fans alike.

Held in the stadium for about 30 minutes, again to ensure our security, we were escorted back to the awaiting bus for a dash back to the Irish Pub for our prearranged after game drinks celebration Aussie style with much further chants and improvised songs.

Once again the police escort attracted much attention in the streets with most onlookers raising their hands in respect. Since the game, we’ve had many thousands of handshakes with locals, thumbs up and greetings.

We are not entirely sure about how locals felt about the result. One taxi driver the next day was quoted as saying to one of our group he “would have paid 100,000 dollars (US cash currency rules in Uzbekistan) to see Australia get beaten”.

Despite this, the overwhelming reaction by the vast majority to our team’s success was one of good humour and respect. Yes, we had come to Tashkent and conquered on the pitch yet we also hope a positive legacy has been forged between two different cultures and nations.

After all football is a passport to the world and has in unlikely circumstances brought together two very different nations.

Our fans partied on into the wee hours of Thursday, and hence a somewhat slower pace today.

Over the coming days, there are still more experiences to be had in this marvellous city and for our more adventurous and energetic fans exploration of the adjacent mountains and ancient Samarkand.

Uzbeks are a proud people, with generous hospitality, and we thank them for hosting us so well.

We are well and truly on the way to South Africa 2010 finals and another date with destiny for the legion of Aussie fans to experience.

It's going to a long sustained team effort, the players and staff urged on by dedicated supporters who will travel the globe to help lift their team. Will we qualify again? After Tashkent, the general agreement amongst the traveling Green & Gold Army and associates is yes we will.

It's often so hard to adequately convey just what this passion for supporting the Socceroos brings to its loyal and committed participants. At the core is football, yet its much bigger than just the game.

The rich and varied experiences along the way are unique, and we hope that many more get involved to grow the fan culture in the right direction.

See you in Brisbane on 15 October, and especially looking forward to next away tours to games in Bahrain, Japan and Qatar.

Pablo Bateson is in Uzbekistan as part of the Green And Gold Army travelling support